


The Warmth of the Sun

by TheWritingSquid



Series: Rebirth [4]
Category: Devil May Cry
Genre: Baby Asserting Dominance, Background Fortuna Orphans, Background Kyrie, Domestic Fluff, Family Fluff, Gen, Madeleine (OC) is Nero's Infant Daughter, Post-Canon, Post-Rebirth, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-04
Updated: 2020-03-04
Packaged: 2021-02-28 01:26:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22955590
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheWritingSquid/pseuds/TheWritingSquid
Summary: A few months after Madeleine's birth, Dante finally has the money he needs to travel to Fortuna and meet his grandniece.
Relationships: Dante & Madeleine, Dante & Nero (Devil May Cry)
Series: Rebirth [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1629973
Comments: 29
Kudos: 202





	The Warmth of the Sun

**Author's Note:**

> Prepare for cavities, everyone is soft af

No amount of practiced chill demeanour could conceal how excited Dante was to step into Nero’s lovey-dovey Fortuna home once more.

He had given in to the demands of technology and allowed Nico to set up some weird electronic photo frame thing in his house, which _they_ could update, making it cycle through whatever images they deemed worthy of his attention. Something about a cloud or whatever--Dante didn’t care to make sense of the techno mumbo jumbo the girl had thrown at him.

Vergil, unsurprisingly, believed every existing picture of Madeleine fit that description. Every day, a dozen new images--some even briefly animated!--had found their way onto his frame, giving Dante a play by play of the baby’s existence. The good parts, anyway. He’d heard enough stories of all-nighters to prove this little blob of human had her mom’s lungs and her father’s character. Dante loved every little Madeleine tale crossing the pond to reach him, even if they ultimately made him feel… lonely. Vergil's few months around the _Devil May Cry_ before Kyrie's delivery dates had left him with a deep, quiet need he hadn't learned to dampen the same way as his lifelong grief. Gosh, would you listen to him? He'd turned into as much of a softie as his bro!

At least Mundus's mess with the Black Basin had left plenty of small portals open across the world, and he'd had more than his share of work to keep busy--and to pay for a quick trip to Fortuna. Dante suspected Lady wasn't being as greedy on extras and "fair share" as she used to be--or she couldn't be bothered to argue with Vergil, the new guardian of the _Devil May Cry_ money. Either way, it'd only taken Dante three months to make his way to Fortuna to meet the little lady in person.

Though if he was honest, he was coming less for Maddie--babies were babies, and he'd seen so many pictures he felt like he knew her--and more for Vergil's hilarious grandpa sputtering. The poor dude's steady voice cracked with joy every time they talked on the phone, and his smoothness shattered into stuttering awe. When he had given Dante a detailed account of Madeleine squirming while he changed her full and stinky diaper like she'd offered him the world, Dante knew he had to see this in person. His icy-cold brother melted under Maddie’s sun, and he wanted to bask in that warmth, too.

And it was time! Nico had driven him from the airport, blabbering about cool guns and demonic parts while he stretched his cramped legs on the dashboard--something he knew she scolded Nero for, but hey, he was the legendary demon hunter, wasn’t he? Once they got to the small home, he hopped down the van and headed straight to the door, more jittery than he cared to admit. He didn’t knock, just pushed open the door to a chaos of delicious smells and happy children screams, and spread his arms.

“What, no welcome committee for the best of the best?” he called out.

Cold power washed over him before he’d even finished his sentence, and Dante grinned as Vergil’s ghost outline warped through the corridor, barely perceptible, tail swishing behind him. All no-grappling rules were quickly forgotten as Dante let his own devil powers flow and caught Vergil’s hands. They stumbled back out of the door and were on the ground within seconds, time freezing around them so they could freely punch and push at each other without freaking out the neighbours _too much_. They wound up spread out side by side in the grass, reverting back to their human forms as Vergil released the time freeze, staring at the bright sun above in silent contentment. Two children, Nero would scold them, but Dante thought of these bouts as reclaiming lost time.

Vergil brushed hair out of his eyes and partly back into its usual swept-back position. “How is it that you only need to open your mouth once for me to remember why your face is so satisfying to punch?”

“I hear it’s a little brother thing.” Dante grinned and propped himself on an elbow. “Thanks for that. Been cooped up in a tin can far too long today.”

“It’s a wonder you don’t crash every plane you step into.”

Vergil unfurled from the ground, every movement still imprinted with the dangerous grace he so naturally displayed in battle. For the first time, Dante noticed the many white round stains on his dark blue shirt, especially all around his shoulder, and he burst out laughing, quiet warmth filling his lungs.

“Would ya look at that! Mister Clean and Tidy is lettin’ the baby drool on him!”

Vergil scowled at him, but there was no real anger behind it. “You try and stop her.”

“Is that how it works?” Dante threw his arm around Vergil’s shoulders, leaning against him as they headed inside. “If I try often and hard enough, you’ll grant me drooling privileges too?”

“How droll. I do suppose you have the maturity of a three-months old baby. What a shame that you possess none of its charms.”

“Now you just don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Vergil’s didn’t bother with more than an eyeroll, but he didn’t shrug Dante’s arm off from his shoulder either, which was as good an admission that he’d missed him as anything. They swept down the corridor, through the kitchen and out into the backyard.

Nero and Kyrie sat face to face on the flat rocks at the back of the court, with Maddie plopped down on her dad’s lap. She had bright red onesie with little yellow dots and a cute hat made to look like a circle of greenery perfectly mimicking strawberry leaves. They’d also put tiny sunglasses over her eyes, making her officially the coolest baby on Earth.

“Would ya look at that!” Dante exclaimed, spreading his arms out. “A giant strawberry ready for me to devour.” He tapped his belly twice and moseyed across the courtyard, sweeping into a crouch right in front of her and poking her chubby little tummy. “Ya look all plump and ready to eat, too.”

The moment he touched her, Maddie broke into a loud, screamish laugh. She grabbed his finger, her whole hand barely making it around his thick-ass digit, and yanked him upward with surprising strength. Within a second, Maddie had shoved his finger in her mouth and was suckling on it with determination. Dante froze, stunned by her fearlessness. She’d thrown his eating threats right back at him!

“What a surprise,” Vergil said from above his shoulder, his voice the perfect mix of condescension and amusement, “you seem to have granted Madeleine drooling privilege for you, too.”

Nero set a hand on top of her head. “Ya don’t wanna put Uncle Dante’s fingers in your mouth, Mads. Who knows where they’ve been?”

Dante burst out laughing--a frank, booming sound that caught Maddie’s attention. She lifted her large head to stare at him, releasing the finger, and screamed right back at him. Screamed or laughed? Jeez it was hard to tell with these little creatures, especially since he couldn’t see her eyes behind the sunglasses, but the hiccups kinda sounded more like a laugh? And she was grinning, too. He looked up at her parents--both smiling, also a good sign.

“She tryin’ to assert dominance by laughing louder than I am?”

“Nothing so primal, Mr. Dante,” Kyrie said. “She is discovering new sounds and trying them out. Last week, she started babbling while I sang.”

“Wow, the little princess has a big brain, huh?”

He grinned at her and she smiled back. So he leaned forward and went “AaaaaAAAaaa” until she started making her own long _Aaaaaa_ sounds. When he laughed, she stopped and screamed too. She really _was_ trying to mimic everything he did, and suddenly Dante found he couldn’t stop grinning, or making sounds at her, or just poking her tummy once more so she’d squirm against her dad’s chest. He had absolutely no idea how long he spent fooling around with little Maddie, but when he finally looked up, Kyrie and Vergil were gone from the courtyard.

Damn.

“She’s something else, huh?” Nero asked, quiet pride flooding out of him.

Dante let himself fall on his ass on the ground, stretching a leg out. He’d been crouched for an hour, if not more. “I thought babies were boring.”

Nero’s barking laugh filled the courtyard, dragging a gleeful yelp out of Maddie. “First few weeks are lots of crying and sleeping, but ya hauled ass here just in time for the fun parts to start. She’s got a good day, too. On bad ones she’ll stare at you like Vergil’s spirit possessed her.”

Dante snorted. No doubt Grandpa Vergil was very proud of her when she did. “Must be happy to finally meet the legendary demon hunter.”

“Sure, old man. Keep telling yourself that.”

Daddyhood hadn’t made Nero any nicer, clearly. The kid had new bags under his eyes and the vague air of someone who’d forgotten what slept meant, yet he felt more content than Dante had ever known him. Something in the way he wrapped around Maddie, all tension washed out of his muscles. On his lap, the baby grabbed at her feet, holding them briefly before trying again. Her father watched wordlessly. He looked good, really. Happy.

Dante kept the comments to himself. He liked being around his nephew when neither of them talked. Silences shared with Nero had this strange quality to them, honest and peaceful, unspoken acknowledgements that they didn’t need to share all the stuff going through their respective brains. So different from those shared with Vergil’s, where they could practically hear the other’s bullshit now and knew the door was open to talk whenever needed. Dante tried to use it more, but he’d grown so used to his own sadness, it mostly felt pointless to voice it at all. Besides, it’d been several months since it’d hit hard enough to keep him lethargic on his couch for days on end. Between the surprise messages on his randomized jukebox, the sharp but welcome calls from Vergil, and the hunts with Lady and Trish, he’d kept busy and entertained. Happy, too, in his own way. With a long, noisy yawn, Dante stretched out on the ground. A second later, he heard Maddie’s little ‘o’ sound in imitation.

“Yeah, ya wanna follow this goof’s example and nap?” Nero asked. “It’s been a while.”

Dante cracked an eye open as Nero stood up, baby in his arms. “She’s got the right idea. Don’t mind me.”

“I wasn’t gonna.” He propped Madeleine up in his arms, taking care to hold her neck as he shifted her around and stealing a quick kiss on her temple. “Vergil told ya about dinner?”

“Not a peep.” Dante brought his hands behind his head. “Why, is he planning to hide olives in my plate?”

Nero grinned. “I ain’t ruining his surprise. Enjoy your beauty sleep, gramps.”

###

Vergil’s surprise, it turned out, involved neither olives nor unfortunate consequences for Dante--a miracle, that. No, his brother--his ridiculous, prideful, amazing brother--had learned to prepare his own pizza dough and baked him three whole ass pizza with just about everything under the sun except olives. There had been no “I missed you” or “it’s good to have you around” since his arrival in Fortuna, but Vergil didn’t need to spell it out any clearer than this. What a dork. Plus he was totally nervous about it, watching Dante shove the first slice in his mouth like a hawk, pale blue eyes drilling his expression for the slightest sign of disgust or disappointment. Not that there was any to be found--these were gloriously delicious, and Dante could have easily eaten ten more.

The Fortuna household remained as delightfully chaotic as he remembered and Dante spent a good chunk of the evening play-fighting with Julio or taking up whichever challenge Amelia had for him while Tycho cheered his foster siblings on. It wasn’t until the two young boys had gone to bed that the noise settled, happy screams replaced by Vergil’s soft violin, the occasional turn of a page as Amelia turned a page on her book, and Madeleine’s cooing. She was curled against Dante now, all wrapped and cozy in her grampa-knitted blanket, stuffed from her recent time hooked at Kyrie’s breasts (and boy, but this baby sure drank a whole damn lot, too). Nero had promised she’d fall asleep somewhere in the next hour if he didn’t shake or excite her.

The mischievous part of him had wanted to play as soon as Nero told him not too, but something in Maddie’s heavy warmth and fragile body held him back. He’d shared one long stare with those big brown eyes and a blanket had wrapped around his heart, warm and calming, appeasing the ever-bubbling energy within. So he let himself relax as she did, watching her as greasy eyes tracked the bow of Vergil’s violin, the length of which shone blue from an extremely thin summoned sword he’d conjured to go with it. At times she released tired coos with threads of rhythm within, as if she wanted to be musical but couldn’t figure out how.

Vergil never stopped looking at her. None of them did, really, and it’d been this way all evening. Amelia had insisted on giving her sister a pen to suck on while she did her homework, Julio had stopped everything to go tickle her, and Tycho had read a small book to her before heading to bed. Nero and Kyrie hovered around their baby no matter who had her in their arms, unable to leave her for long if they could help it.

Maddie was a tiny radiant sun, capturing all in her orbit and warming their souls with smiles and soft giggles. Now that she grew limp and heavy from sleep in _his_ arms, Dante understood how hard it would be to escape her pull, and why no one ever tried.


End file.
